University of Notre Dame Men's Athletics Program Wins Its First Capital One Cup Trophy

MCLEAN, Va., June 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The ACC's new kids on the block have just earned one of the highest honors in college sports – the 2013-2014 Capital One Cup. The men's athletics program at the University of Notre Dame finished first in the final Capital One Cup men's standings, claiming their first Capital One Cup title and $200,000 toward student-athlete scholarships.  The Capital One Cup trophy, which is awarded to the best men's and women's Division I athletics programs in the country, will be formally presented to Notre Dame during the ESPY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on July 16.

Notre Dame first claimed the top spot on the leader board after winning its national championship in Soccer and delivering a strong top-10 finish in Fencing this winter. The Fighting Irish then moved up to the No. 1 spot again following its second-place finish in Lacrosse this spring, proving that every sport counts in the race toward the Capital One Cup.  After falling short of Baseball regionals, Notre Dame's run at the top of the standings was in jeopardy – a win by the University of Virginia in the NCAA^® Men's College World Series^® could have bumped the Irish from the No. 1 spot, but with Vanderbilt winning the baseball national championship in a very close series, Notre Dame secured its first-ever Capital One Cup trophy with a total of 98.5 points.

Once again, the race for the Capital One Cup came down to the wire underscoring the importance of every sport. Throughout the season, the competition remained tough with only two leaders ever surging to the top: Florida State and Notre Dame, with the Irish ultimately taking home bragging rights. National championships in both Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field ensured that Oregon finished second, 6-½ points off the pace of Notre Dame, while Florida's top-10 finishes in Basketball, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field and Swimming guaranteed a third place finish in the standings. Rounding out the top-10 were Virginia (4), Florida State (T-5), USC (T-5), Connecticut (7), Duke (8), and Maryland, North Dakota State and Vanderbilt all tied for 9^th.

"I am so proud to see our coaches and student-athletes reach such a milestone, and to earn the Capital One Cup for the first-time ever is a great accomplishment," said Jack Swarbrick, Vice President & Director of Athletics.

Below are the official Capital One Cup men's final standings for the 2013 – 2014 season, with the top-10 point earners in men's Division I athletics listed.

"I can't stress it enough – every sport counts in the race toward the Capital One Cup," said Barry Larkin, Capital One Cup Advisory Board member, World Series champion, 12-time MLB All-Star and former University of Michigan student-athlete. "Notre Dame is a prime example of that. They climbed to the top of the standings early with their championship in Soccer and kept the momentum going by reaching the National Championship game in Lacrosse and finishing well in Fencing."

"Congratulations to the University of Notre Dame men's athletics program on winning this year's Capital One Cup," said Marc Mentry, Senior Vice President at Capital One. "It takes a lot of grit to remain at or close to the top of the standings throughout the entire season and the Fighting Irish showed their resilience all year long. We're looking forward to honoring Notre Dame at the ESPY Awards next month."

Highlights from the Capital One Cup during the 2013-2014 athletics season include:

• Notre Dame put the ball in the net twice against powerhouse Maryland to claim its first National Championship in soccer with a score of 2-1
• Connecticut captured its fourth Men's Basketball National Championship becoming the first 7 seed to win the title
• Vanderbilt won its first College World Series baseball title in a dramatic series over Virginia
• Duke claimed its third NCAA^® DI Men's Lacrosse title since 2010
• Southern California captured the university's 100^th NCAA^® championship beating Oklahoma for the program's 21^st win in tennis
• Alabama won its second consecutive NCAA^® golf title, defeating Oklahoma State 4-1
• Oregon Ducks won the Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship with a team score of 88 points giving the track team their first NCAA^® title since 1984
• Combined, 105 schools earned points in the Capital One Cup men's standings

Schools earn points based on their teams' top-10 finishes in NCAA Division I championships and in final official coaches' polls across 19 men's and 20 women's sports as they compete to win the Capital One Cup trophy and a combined $400,000 in scholarships for student-athletes. The University of Florida athletic program captured this year's Capital One Cup for the women.

In addition to Barry Larkin, other Capital One Cup Advisory Board members include Rece Davis, Jennie Finch, Doug Flutie, Clark Kellogg, Brandi Chastain and Lisa Leslie.

To view the complete men's and women's final standings, please visit www.CapitalOneCup.com. Fans can join in on the conversation at Facebook.com/CapitalOneCup and Twitter.com/CapitalOneCup.

About Capital One

Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $208.3 billion in deposits and $290.5 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2014. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 900 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.

Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN's Capital One Bowl Week. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot team, Capital One Academic All-America Program, and supports all 89 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.

NCAA and CWS are trademarks owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.  All other licenses or trademarks are property of their respective holders.

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SOURCE Capital One Financial Corporation